Movie theater chain Cinemark confirmed Wednesday it is closing its Century Theatres multiplex at Westfield shopping center in downtown San Francisco, citing what it calls a "comprehensive review of local business conditions."
It appears the 10-theater movie house will shut its doors as soon as Thursday.
"Cinemark can confirm it has decided to permanently close the Century San Francisco Centre 9 and XD theater shortly before the conclusion of its lease term following a comprehensive review of local business conditions," a Cinemark representative said in a statement.
Cinemark's lease at Westfield San Francisco Centre was due to expire in September, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
Canadian tourist Marino Weibe said he's not surprised given the changes in the way people watch movies these days.
“It's really tough to get a good movie experience anywhere without paying a fortune, when you can,” he said. “A lot of the times, the stuff is getting streamed virtually the same day as it's going into theaters, in Canada as well.”
Cinemark's announcement comes just days after Westfield announced it is vacating the downtown San Francisco shopping center property and amid several other closures in the area surrounding Mid-Market and Union Square.
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Just last month, retailers Nordstrom, Old Navy and Coco Republic announced they would be shuttering their stores in the city's shopping district.
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Many of them have also closed outlets in other cities or moved to smaller spaces in San Francisco in response to a national change in customer's shopping habits.
Rachel Michelin with the California Retailers' Association says crime is also a factor in retailer's decisions to leave the city.
“We have so many folks that will come into our stores, they're repeat offenders. They steal, they sell all those goods out on the streets,” she said. “They purchase drugs. They go into that store the next day; they continue that cycle.”
She said her group has been trying to make changes to California's Prop 47, which raised the value of goods that can be stolen before it becomes a felony.
In response to concerns about crime, Mayor London Breed and police Chief Bill Scott have issued recent directives to have San Francisco police arrest repeated drug users and efforts to crack down on open air drug markets in the Tenderloin and South of Market neighborhoods.
On Tuesday, San Francisco supervisors approved funding for the mayor's comprehensive plan to revitalize downtown.
